TOUR: ShopRite - Milford, CT

ShopRite of Milford

Owner: Harry Garafalo

Opened: 2016

Cooperative: Wakefern Food Corp.

Location: 935 Boston Post Rd, Milford, CT

Photographed: November 2018

We've moved from the Hartford area to the southern coastline of Connecticut, where we're starting here in Milford. The town of Milford is about halfway between Bridgeport (to the west) and New Haven (to the east). This 73,000 square foot ShopRite opened as a new-build store in 2016 replacing a much smaller, 56,000 square foot ShopRite nearby a matter of blocks away. Warning: I went way overboard on the pictures in this store. This is quite a substantial tour.

This store model has roughly been used by other ShopRite owners, originating with Saker World Class ShopRites in southern New Jersey, and adapted by Garafalo here in Milford and Cromwell, along with Mannix in Staten Island. This Milford store is emblematic of an interesting approach to ShopRites in Connecticut. Two of the largest owners, Garafalo and Cingari, each have very different business models. Cingari's Grade A stores, which we saw in Danbury, are no-nonsense, no frills, perishables and international foods-heavy basic grocery stores with regular old low prices. Garafalo's stores tend to be located in more affluent areas, with large, upscale stores featuring large selections of gourmet and prepared foods. This beautiful example is no exception -- plus, it's worth noting that both operators are extremely successful. To tour this store, we're going to start with the second-floor cafe, so we can get an idea of the layout.

You enter to the spacious grand aisle, which is lined on the right side with produce and on the left side by deli and prepared foods. Floral is in the front corner under the cafe, with bakery at the back of the grand aisle. Seafood and meat line the back wall, with pharmacy on the front wall and dairy/frozen at the far end of the store.

The enormous ShopRite Kitchen lines the front half of the left side wall, with deli and gourmet cheeses at the back.

Sorry Stop & Shop, but this is what a flagship new store prototype should look like. Not this.

Le Cafe at Milford includes a spacious seating area and a kitchen for cooking classes.

We can also see into the foyer area from up here.

Now moving onto the main floor, where we see floral under the cafe area.

A dietitian's office takes up the front corner, with the ShopRite kitchen lining the side wall. Before we get into the deli area, let's take a quick look at produce...

All the fixtures are sleek and modern. And the packaged produce cases have doors on them...

Local hydroponic-grown lettuce in the produce department!

Now heading over to prepared foods...

Exhibition cooking in the front corner, with a to-order grill facing the front of the store, a Mexican Grill in the middle, and a hot food bar on the right side. For the Mexican Grill, think Chipotle. Now cut the price in half, double the portion size, and make it all more flavorful and fresher. And how about a side of store-made lime sea salt tortilla chips? I did not regret my decision of the chicken burrito bowl. And at the time of my visit (not sure if this is still going on), every Wednesday if you buy one burrito bowl you get one free. Not bad at all.

Up next in prepared foods is made-to-order salads, self-service salad bar, made-to-order deli sandwiches, and sushi. Check out the selection in that sushi case!

Outstanding design and decor in this section. Olive bar opposite...

...and gourmet service cheese case between sushi and the deli.

As you can tell, this is an extremely high-end store. Gourmet cheeses cut to order!

Regular deli in the back along with a large selection of high-end composed salads.

Next up is bakery...

Service bakery on the back wall, with self-service bread cases on the side wall. I did buy bread and bagels here, and oh boy were they amazing. Bakery-quality, better than most supermarkets.

Amazing! I bought that loaf right there in the front.

Bagels hanging from sticks attached to the back of the case! I've seen this technique in other ShopRites since, but this was my first.

An overview from the back to the front of the deli wall.

Looking from the grand aisle into the rest of the grocery store. HABA takes up the first few aisles with seafood and butcher on the back wall. Notice the package-your-own olive oil bar in the foreground. Let's start with HABA...

Another beautiful HABA department from Wakefern. Very high-end but the prices are still lower than CVS or other drugstores. Plus, a manager overheard me talking about problems I was having with my razor and recommended a different one to me (a brand and type I'm still using two years later). Great service!

Seafood on the back wall...

Relatively small seafood counter, but notice that the case has two levels. Very nice.

New type of coffin cases with glass doors on top that I hadn't seen before.

The butcher counter, which is next along the back wall, continues the grand aisle decor with a pleasantly 3D variation in a simpler fixture.

Large natural and organic selection in the first grocery aisle after HABA.

The rest of the store after the grand aisle is definitely less exciting than the grand aisle, but still very nice. I love the aisle markers.

Deluxe kitchen shop!

Dairy in the back corner, with the rest in the last aisle.

Frozen in the second-to-last aisle.

Awesome beer graphic in the front corner of the store, although I'm pretty sure those letters were already starting to fall down (look at the R)! Now for a look along the front-end before we head out...

I know that was an extremely extensive store tour! (I photographed it while stopping for lunch, not on a supermarket tour day where I'll photograph anywhere from 20ish to 60ish stores in one day, so I had more time.) As we continue west along the coast, we'll be spending less time in each store so we get to see a big variety of stores. Stay tuned!